earl
noun
a British nobleman of a rank below that of marquis and above that of viscount: called count for a time after the Norman conquest. The wife of an earl is a countess.
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earl
1 American
[url]
/ ɜrl /
noun
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earls
plural
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a British nobleman of a rank below that of marquis and above that of viscount: called count for a time after the Norman conquest. The wife of an earl is a countess.
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(in Anglo-Saxon England) a governor of one of the great divisions of England, including East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, and Wessex.
Earl
2
American
[url]
/ ɜrl /
Or
Earle
noun
earl
British
/ ɜːl /
noun
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Female equivalent: countess. (in the British Isles) a nobleman ranking below a marquess and above a viscount
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(in Anglo-Saxon England) a royal governor of any of the large divisions of the kingdom, such as Wessex
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of earl
before 900; Middle English erl, Old English eorl; cognate with Old Saxon erl man, Old Norse jarl chieftain
Explanation
An earl is a member of the British nobility. An earl is ranked above a viscount or a baron, in case you know those titles. Earl certainly carries more clout than "Mister"! One of the ceremonial titles given to noblemen in the United Kingdom is earl. Being an earl used to come with a great deal of power and control over a certain region, including the authority to pass judgment in courts of law. While it's still prestigious to be an earl, there's less actual power involved in the position. The word itself comes from the Old English word eorl, "brave man, warrior, leader, or chief."
Vocabulary lists containing earl
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The tapestry begins in 1064 or 65, when Harold, the most powerful earl in England and brother-in-law of king Edward the Confessor, is sent to Normandy, now in northern France.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Similarly, the earl of Peterborough's son refused both to remove his hat and to enter a plea when tried for treason in 1658.
From Science Daily ● May 7, 2026
Once, it is said, an earl stormed into Holbein’s London workshop demanding that the artist paint his portrait at once.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
Viewers eventually learn Sophie’s servitude is forced after her parentage is revealed — she’s the illegitimate daughter of an earl.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
When Hattie told me that this earl or that duke loved her, I laughed over the absurdity of it to him.
From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine
Earl Warren, to start, was governor of California, and that kind of political experience wasn’t uncommon.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Kennedy’s father was a friend of Gov. Earl Warren, and young Tony played with Warren’s children.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Ben Earl and Freeman were both close to claiming clever kicks ahead with the tryline close at hand, with Jack van Poortvliet bringing some of the zip that was sorely absent in Johannesburg.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
One early passage with Fin Smith and Ben Earl combining well and Jack van Poortvliet finding his man with a one-handed offload round the back of tackler carved through the hosts.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
In a victory for the civil rights movement, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote that states cannot use trespass laws against individuals protesting state-mandated segregation policies.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Its inhabitants are those of “there will always be an England” England: stern vicars, timid curates, lords and earls, penniless titled wastrels living on allowances from their uncles, imperious aunts, upper-crust twits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025
Prince William, the heir to the throne, will be there along with his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their children, as well as marquesses, dukes, baronesses, lords and earls.
From New York Times ● May 5, 2023
The tradition caught on and English colleges became diploma mills for earls and barons who never cracked a book or scribbled on parchment in their storied halls.
From Washington Times ● May 9, 2018
Among the 10,000 killed were King James IV, 12 earls, 13 barons, five heirs to titles, three bishops and two abbots.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2013
Impressed by what they saw, the earls introduced cannons to the English army, which adopted them enthusiastically and already used them against French soldiers at the battle of Crecy six years later.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
